Portraits
by Dakatmew
Summary: It all began with a portrait...


In the country of Araluen, there is a fiefdom called Redmont, at the heart of which lies Castle Redmont. It is there that most citizens of Araluen find their fortune, their craft, or trade. And it is here, where we find the Queen of Araluen, and her husband, Horace.

Horace and Cassandra were touring the country, the Queen heavily pregnant. Although she was due in several weeks' time, she insisted on coming to see her friends, who most of which were in Redmont.

However, Cassandra was going into labor, although she didn't notice just yet, until her water broke.

"I need Redmont's knights up for inspection as soon as possible, Baron, and I would love to sample some of Jenny's latest delicacies, I've heard she's gotten even better-oh, dear."

Cassandra sighed. "I do believe my water broke. Let's go get some people that will probably help with this… delicate situation."

The people around the Queen started to panic, and then ran about like rapid mongooses. Trying to find the way to the best herbalists available, the Queen sighed. She really hated the fuss that everyone made over her sometimes.

In a matter of pain-filled hours, the Queen had finally given birth to a baby girl, which she had said would be what the baby's gender was.

Before she could hold her baby, whom she had yet to name, she passed out from sheer exhaustion.

This had also been induced by a drug that a mysterious enemy of the kingdom had stealthily given her, telling her they were painkillers.

Our mysterious villain took the Queen's baby, and replaced it with a normal boy, an abandoned boy, born only that morning. Sadly, his parents had been killed.

In a matter of seconds, the villain had rushed out the window with the royal baby, and left the other nurses to it, who didn't even notice the switch.

When Cassandra woke up from her stupor, she smiled at the newborn babe in her arms, already loving him.

The thing was, she had been sure that it was going to be a girl…

Also in a matter of minutes, Horace, her husband, had been brought in and was gazing stupidly at his wife and his newborn son.

"What shall we call him?" she asked, shaking him out of his stupor.

"Whatever you like, darling." He said, hugging both her and his son close.

"I'll call him Thomas." She declared, sighing unknowingly.

"Thomas it is," echoed Horace, glancing at his son.

The couple smiled, and seemed to be fine with having a son introduced to them, instead of a girl.

Already a couple kilometers away, the former nurse was riding hard, the baby swathed in blankets to muffle the sound of her cries. She ran the horse until it was covered in lather, and finally reached her destination.

As she got off the horse, she stopped in front of a man wearing a cloak in the dark.

Wordlessly, she handed him the bundle, and then jumped back on the horse, continuing to ride him until she was well out of the kingdom.

The man looked at the bundle in his arms, and found the baby girl sleeping in his arms, despite all the jostling of the ride.

"Aiyanna. You will be the next Queen, but not by blood, even though you have that in great supply."

The man smiled to himself as the bundle moved, and the baby girl, Aiyanna, looked up at the man with wide eyes that portrayed no fear.

With a slim smile on his face, he saddled his horse and took the baby girl to his home, a cottage in the harsh mountains, where he had everything to take care of a baby girl already there.

In 15 years, the baby Aiyanna had made a huge transition from baby girl to blossoming flower.

She looked almost like a complete replica of Cassandra, her real mother, from her eyes to her hair.

Aiyanna, however, was not royally trained throughout her life. She was, in fact, being trained as an assassin, although from the look of her, you would have guessed anything but that.

With a smiling face, she had completed her initiation into the grim society of the Brotherhood, the cult-like assassin's group her father, Lucius, was a part of.

It was he who had taught her the various ways to kill a person, and the best ways to make it look natural. He, who had learned these as a child, was not a natural, and often hesitated before making the killing stroke.

Aiyanna, however, was a complete natural when it came to blades, poison, and technique. Not only did she have enough knowledge to grow many poisonous plants, she knew enough to know what makes a lethal dosage and what would merely tickle a person.

Best of all, she knew how to make them appear as plants that were harmless, and could trick even a Ranger into believing they were herbs of healing varieties. Not even a healer would be able to tell the difference.

In a few days, her father and Aiyanna would be traveling to Redmont, in an effort to profit from their services, which would actually be more of a reality than you would think. Aiyanna and her father also did portraits together, as a way to make a living when the cold seasons struck in and no more herbs could be grown.

That was how they were found out.

And to think, it all started with a portrait…


End file.
